


The Rain and Godfather's Heart

by livingiseasywitheyesclosed



Series: The Heart That Tells Stories [2]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Family Fluff, Father Figures, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Heartbeats, Parent-Child Relationship, References to Depression, Sleep Deprivation, small town
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:40:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29244453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livingiseasywitheyesclosed/pseuds/livingiseasywitheyesclosed
Summary: Shane had a lullaby of a lifetime that he would sometimes share with Jas. It never failed to get her to sleep.
Relationships: Jas & Shane (Stardew Valley), Shane/Female Player (Stardew Valley), Shane/Player (Stardew Valley)
Series: The Heart That Tells Stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2146722
Kudos: 15





	The Rain and Godfather's Heart

**Author's Note:**

> There's something in SV universe that gets me in the fluff mood! It takes place before my first fic, I hope you like this one.

Shane had his second tall glass of beer when the rain poured down. It was past midnight, the rumbling of thunder echoed throughout the house. He was in the kitchen, unlike the rest of the town that was currently in their own room, getting some rest.

Despite having to go to work in the morning, he never slept at night. Maybe an hour or two, but nothing more. His body just wouldn't let him.

Leaning down against the dinner table, Shane winced. It felt like he had spent years without sleeping.

It was hard to even sleep like a normal person.

Not when his mind was clouded with negative thoughts, not when his head was pounding and ready to explode at any moment. He was aware that there was no chance in hell his depression would go along with his alcohol consumption.

But Shane couldn't help it.

He would rather drink in the middle of the night to ease his racing thoughts.

Tonight, he wasn't sure if drinking was going to help or hurt him. He was willing to take the chance.

Shane froze in his seat when he caught someone at the doorstep. His eyes worn out with dark circles formed under, glancing at the small figure.

It was Jas, his goddaughter.

She just stood there, clenching the edges of her 'Fairy Rose' pajama. The rain was still hitting hard against the roof as they stared at each other.

The dark-haired man took a deep breath, trying his best to ignore his pounding head. He managed to greet her with a weak smile. "Hey, sweetheart. Why aren't you asleep?"

Jas shook her head slowly, still hesitating over whether or not to approach him. She saw him standing up, almost stumbled when his head pounded so hard at the sudden movement.

"Are you okay?" she asked, sensing something unusual from him.

Shane rubbed his brows, attempting to hide the frown on his face. His skin was paler than ever. He left his sad-looking pint as he made his way to her direction. "I'm totally fine, sweetheart."

Jas gazed up at his eyes, she might be a kid, but she could tell when people were lying.

"You want some milk?"

Jas nodded, the first time that night. She watched her godfather's back as he turned to the fridge, before disappearing to the other room. 

With a glass of warm milk in hand, Shane stepped in the living room. A midnight re-run of a cartoon was displayed on TV, with little to no volume. He sat down next to her as Jas grabbed the beverage and gulped it down in just a few seconds.

Shane watched the little girl, couldn't help but cracked a smile at the sight. Jas looked up to face him with her milk mustache, giggling.

She was so adorable.

No matter how crappy he felt, he had to look after Jas. She was everything to him. The world made more sense when he was taking care of her.

"Now you gotta go to bed."

Jas pouted, giving her puppy eyes look to her godfather. "Could we stay here, please? I don't like the thunder noises in my room."

He just gave up, easily, couldn't let her get scared alone in her room.

He knew a thing or two about loneliness.

"Okay, but you gotta try to sleep. School's tomorrow." 

Shane leaned against the sofa and made himself comfortable, head still pounded but in a more acceptable way. Maybe he got used to it.

A thought suddenly came to his mind. He looked down, searching her eyes for an answer. "Did you have a nightmare?"

The girl shook her head and whispered. "No."

Over the heavy rain, Shane could barely hear her. He breathed out a relieved sigh. If it was a nightmare then he doubted she would go back to sleep at all. This time, he was optimistic that she would sleep in no time. Shane knew exactly how her sleeping habit was. 

Jas shivered as she clung to him, placing her little arm across his stomach. In response to that, Shane held her in his arms, kissing her forehead before snuggling it in his chest.

"Ms. Penny has been teaching me biology," mumbled Jas. He shifted, hand caressing her dark hair.

"Biology?" he gazed down at her.

"Yes. I never knew about good bacteria, I thought they were all evil."

Evil? Shane cracked a wide grin as he suppressed his laugh. "Look at you, learning a lot of things they keep you up at night. I'm proud of you."

Jas was a clever girl, she was Penny's favorite student. Although there shouldn't be favoritism in school, but this kid was like a sponge. She absorbed the knowledge quickly.

Penny had her learning about circulatory system, and that she could try and feel her family's heartbeat. ' _You can try feel your godfather's, and told him you're learning it at school.'_ Penny would say. 

Putting her little hand over the center of his chest, she could immediately feel something hitting her palm rhythmically. Jas frowned in his embrace, noticing something strange.

She pulled her head back to look for her godfather's eyes. "I'm learning about the heart. Why is yours really fast?"

The question made Shane raised his eyebrows. He was gazing blankly at the animation on TV before she caught his attention. Now that his dark iris had met hers, he couldn't make up any words.

He knew exactly what made it irregular. It was more likely because of the alcohol, stress, and exhaustion he put on his heart.

She had absolutely no idea about his drinking problem and depression. Yet he couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. 

"I'm just afraid. I'm afraid if you don't sleep soon you will be tired tomorrow, my dear." 

The frown on her face never disappeared when she leaned into him once again, this time with her bright-eyes shut.

"Try to sleep now, yeah? You can tell me those biology facts tomorrow." Shane planted a kiss on his goddaughter's temple, she felt so small and fragile in his arms.

Jas loved his snuggles, the girl always demanded bear hugs from her godfather whenever she could.

There was something different about his hugs.

Something that screamed 'I'll protect you'. 

Having had lost both her parents in a tragic accident, the little girl had a different point of view towards life.

Jas chose to accept it as it was. She was extremely lucky she had someone to turn to. Like a crying baby in need of a distraction, she needed it too.

The day Shane became her godfather was the day her parents decided to add his name in their will. Apparently, they appointed him to become her legal guardian.

She remembered when she first moved in with him. He raised her all alone and made her his priority. As if she was his own child. It didn't take long for her to get comfortable, she had known him since forever.

Shane was right there from the very beginning. Her parents put so much trust in him, and Jas knew she could do the same.

The little girl tried to focus on the pitter patter of rain and her godfather's heart. Both were now at a steady pace.

She loved listening to the beat. 

What made it so special was that it belonged to Shane. It kept him alive. Her one and only, loving parent.

And she chose to do nothing but cherish every moment, every heartbeat with him.

The sound had her eyes heavy with sleepiness, eventually.

It was a lullaby that lasted a lifetime. 

Just when Jas thought she had slipped into a deep sleep, she felt him kissing the top of her head. His voice rumbled in her ear.

"Sleep tight, my lovely daughter."

She went to bed with a light smile on her face that night. Shane had to carry the little princess to her bedroom, before burying himself in his own bed. Completely forgotten about his pint in the kitchen. 

And just like that, he slept through the night.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Shane and Jas, love them, don't we all? I'm working on a fic of when Jas found out he was suicidal. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my series! Any feedback is much appreciated :)


End file.
